Disclaimer: Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Inari, Miyuki, the bad guys, etc. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.
Note: This takes place before the time skip in the manga. Naruto is 14 though, so that means I've made many changes to the original story line.
Any changes I made will be revealed in their time. If anyone is confused about something, please ask and I will clarify.
I've been lazy lately, but for this whole week I got serious. I worked on this three to five hours a night each day.
I sort of know what I want for the next few chapters and I have managed to fill a few holes in the storyline.
Before I forget, I want to thank everyone for their comments. I may not reply to all of them, but know that they mean a lot to me. I read the over and over again so I feel guilty and work on my chapters.
Also a special thanks to Lukus for leaving me my first ever threatening comment. I found it funny and it made me smile. Is that weird?
Note: This is a sequel so please read book 1 first. I know it's long but it think there's few good chapters in there.
Chapter 1
Back to where it all started
High atop the village hidden in the leaves, the blonde Hokage watched from the window of her office. Though her eyes scanned the streets of the village, her thoughts were elsewhere.
It was eerily quiet, as it had been, for the past few days.
No one was barging in, demanding missions, or complaining that they were too easy. Though, she had to admit, he hadn't been doing much of that lately.
Tsunade laughed, "I guess the brat's matured a tiny bit."
It was funny; to think how quickly she had started to miss the loudmouth blond. It had only been three days since he and her old teammate had left on their journey. The boy had gone on missions longer than that plenty of times. Then again, this time he would not be returning for who knows how long. And despite the fact that he was in good hands, Tsunade couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had.
"If I was at a casino right now, I wonder what my luck would be?" she asked herself, turning to her piles of unfinished paperwork. The blonde sighed and pulled out a bottle of sake from a hidden compartment in her desk.
Unless she could suddenly look into the future there was no way of knowing what awaited Naruto and Jiraiya. All she could do was hope they were strong enough to handle whatever came their way.
"Lady Tsunade, it's a bit early to be drinking isn't it?" Shizune said as she walked into the Hokage's office. She gave the blonde woman a stern look but said woman merely shrugged it off.
"I need this Shizune." she said in a most serious tone, "Something tells me I'm going to need this."
"Alright guys, it looks like we're almost there!" Inari said with excitement. "Let's step on it!"
"That's easy for you to say kid," Kiba said with a hint of annoyance, "You've been ridding on my back most of the way here."
The brown haired four-year old looked down at the Inuzuka teen. Her arms were firmly wrapped around his neck and his arm was holding her securely. With an embarrassed smile she replied, "Oh yeah, sorry."
"There's no need for apologies. It was our mission to escort you here safely and given your age and size, the trip would have taken longer had you walked along with us."
"Shino is correct," their team leader said, "Considering how long it took you to get to Konoha all those months ago, it just made more sense for one of us to carry you here."
Inari pouted, "I wish I could have teleported there. Or at least along the way so I wouldn't feel so useless."
"I-inari…" Hinata spoke softly.
"That would not have been a good idea Inari." their team leader spoke once more. "You should never move through an unknown location all on your own. Who knows where you might pop up and who could be lurking around the corner." She didn't want to scare the child, merely caution her.
The small child nodded in understanding, her gaze not leaving the older woman.
Hinata couldn't help but smile at the scene between the four-year old and the dark haired woman with the red eyes.
The first time the two had met, Inari had posed as a friend of the heiress. With her real identity now revealed Inari was afraid the older woman would be upset at being lied to. Kurenai however, simply laughed it off. She found it somewhat amusing that she didn't see through a four-year old's fib.
Instantly Inari relaxed and seemed to have taken a liking to the genjutsu specialist. When Kiba asked why Inari was behaving like that the child responded, 'Because she's so pretty and she has such a nice smile.'
The Inuzuka male didn't think that was reason enough but was told by Shino to drop it.
It made sense to Hinata though. She had felt something similar when she first met Kurenai. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they both had lost their mothers. And while Kurenai didn't exactly give off a motherly feeling, it still felt warm and familiar. Like she was someone you could confide it and someone who could protect you.
Hinata quickly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Kurenai's voice.
"Alright, since we're almost there I think we should send Kiba and Shino to survey the area ahead of us."
"Oh, I want to go too!" Inari said in a pleading voice, "I'll be extra careful. Please?"
"I'm sorry Inari, but this is standard procedure." Kurenai tried to explain in a gentle yet stern voice, "Once they return and give us the OK, then we can proceed."
The four-year old pouted as Kiba slowly let her down and made his way to Shino. He whistled for his white haired companion, who was playing a little way away with Miyuki.
Both pups turned at the sound and happily made their way to Kiba's side. In less than a minute both boys and dogs were out of sight.
Seeing Miyuki run off with them only made Inari pout some more.
Kurenai sighed, she didn't like lying to a child but there was no other way. They weren't just going to Inari's hometown; they were going to the place full of terrible memories. There was no telling how the town looked now, if there was still even a town.
From what Tsunade had told the red eyes woman, Inari had witnessed the death of her parents and had seen her town burn up in flames. That's why they were told to approach with caution. The last thing they wanted was to trigger those memories all over again.
Inari however was starting to lose her patience. After so many months she was finally going to see her hometown again. Hope remained in her heart that she would find people still living there. Since their journey began she had been dreaming about what she would find when she returned home. Some however, turned into nightmares.
But Inari didn't want to think negatively.
"We're back!" Kiba announced as he ran towards them. Shino and the pups followed behind at a much slower pace.
"Did you see it?" Inari asked excitedly, "It's big and the sign says-"
"Yeah I remember what you said shrimp," Kiba teased, "You only described it to me about 12 times."
"We didn't actually make it to the entrance though," the Inuzuka boy explained, "As soon as we caught sight of the entrance we made our way back to you guys." Kiba glanced nervously from Inari to Kurenai.
The red eyed woman noticed his hesitation, "Kiba, Shino, let's go over your findings in private."
Inari looked at the dark haired woman beside her, "Why can't you talk here? I want to hear too."
Kurenai got down to Inari's level and spoke in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, but it's protocol. Please wait here with Hinata while the three of us talk."
Normally Inari would object more, but she decided to accept it instead.
The long haired woman smiled and left with the boys. The three made sure they were a good distance away so that no one could listen in on their conversation.
Meanwhile Inari and Hinata immerse themselves in some small talk while Akamaru and Miyuki took a nap beside them.
"I wonder how many houses are still there," Inari said in a sad tone. She shook her head, trying not to let the thought get to her, but that was easier said than done.
"Inari," the shy heiress said with sadness.
"There was a really good bakery that was run by this elderly couple." Inari said with a smile, "My father loved the smell of bread so he always passed by it on our walks around town." the small child looked north, towards her hometown, "And there was this restaurant that my friend's dad ran a few blocks away. Sometimes I would sneak in during our walks and my friend would give me free samples."
Inari curled up in a ball and whispered, "I wonder if any of them are still alive…"
Hinata listened sympathetically, not sure what to say to the young child. The two sat in silence while Hinata struggled to think of something to say.
Meanwhile Inari thought of her hometown and the people in it. She was certain that she knew almost everyone that lived there. While the town was relatively big, the population was in the low hundreds.
'I remember waking up early in the morning,' she thought sadly to herself, 'the day those bad men attacked.' A rueful smile made its way to her face, 'It was the only time I ever work up before mother and father.'
'There must be something I can say,' Hinata thought to herself, 'Lady Hokage warned us about this. I have to help her.' with newfound confidence the heiress turned to the four year old, only to see a glowing green light.
The small child was so consumed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that she was accessing her chakra. In an instant she was covered in a familiar green glow. In her head all she could think of was her parents, and the life they shared together. 'Mother always played with me in my room and father would always find time to read to me at night.' Flashes of them raced through her mind. One by one she relived some of her favorite memories with them.
Hinata recognized the green light and reacted immediately, "Inari!" she reached out to the child, but in the blink of an eye she was gone.
By now the memories had become too much for the brown haired girl. It had been months since she last felt such pain. Thanks to Hinata and Naruto, she had slowly been able to deal with her devastating loss. But now that she was back, all the old emotions were brought back to the surface. With choked sobs she cried out all of her frustrations, "Why? Why did this happen to me? To us…" Inari tightens her grip on her knees, curling up even more into a ball. "I hate them. I HATE THOSE GUYS!" the four-year old yells with such a force that her throat feels a bit sore afterwards.
It takes a few minutes, but eventually Inari is able to calm down. She felt better, now that she had gotten some of her anger out of her system. Before, she had tried to keep it all in. Occasionally she would cry, but she had never had a chance to let out her anger. Miyuki had always been at her side and the small child didn't want to frighten or worry the pup. She was the last memory she had of her parents.
With a quick motion she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes. It was then that she suddenly noticed something. Or rather, she heard something.
It was too muffled to make out, but it sounded like it was coming from more than one direction.
She turned her head to the right and it was then that she noticed something else.
Hinata wasn't there. In fact, as she stood up and looked around, she noticed that she wasn't even in the woods anymore. Instead, she was surrounded by four colorful walls that were all too familiar to her. Despite the thick layer of dust and various signs of damage, it was clear to her where she was.
She was in her room. Back to where it all began. She was home.
Inari carefully jumped off of her bed and looked around. Most of her possessions were on the floor and some were surprisingly still in one piece. "Mother came in and packed my backpack with some clothes. I didn't even have a chance to take any of my toys." she recalled, picking up a stuffed bear given to her on her birthday. She made her way around the room, picking up more of her possessions and recalling more memories. Eventually she made it back to her bed, and noticed the frame on her nightstand.
"This," she bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears. The frame held a picture of her parents, who were holding a very cheerful Inari. In her arms she held the almost two month old Miyuki. "This was taken on my birthday," she said with a sad smile, "It's the last picture we ever took together." Inari could no longer keep her tears at bay and began to cry softly to herself.
"I told you, I heard something in this direction." a rough voice calls out.
"Fine, let's check it out then." someone replies in an annoyed voice.
Inari's cries halt at the two voices. Her eyes widen when she hears heavy footsteps down the hall.
One by one the two open all the doors in the hallway. Their footsteps get closer and closer to the last room, where Inari resides.
The four-year old's hands tremble as she tries to slow down her breathing. She can't even think about hiding before the door to her room is slammed open.
Right before her eyes two men walk in and look down at her with sneers.
"Tch, it's just a little brat," the thin one says in an annoyed tone. While he didn't look muscular or tall, his face was enough to scare any child into running away.
The man next to him was slightly shorter and heavier. He gave Inari an angry glare which made her close her eyes and clutch her picture frame tightly to her chest.
Curious, the short, bald man approached the girl and reached for the photo. "Whatcha got there kid?"
Inari snapped her eyes open as she felt the man's big hands tug at her picture frame. Though smaller and much weaker she desperately tried to keep the photo from the man. Seeing this, the man growled and snatched the photo with one quick motion.
The tall man approached the two and grabbed the frame from the bigger man, "What are you doing? Let's just get rid of this brat before someone comes looking for her." He glanced down at the picture and quickly grabbed the shorter man's shoulder. "Wait," he said, bringing the picture down to the other man's eye level. "Do you see what I see?"
"Uh," he replied, squinting at the picture. His eyes widened and turned to look at Inari, who was cowering in the corner. "It's her," he said with a grin, "Looks like she came back after all."
"How foolish," the thin man said, frightening Inari with his creepy smile. "But at least you lucked out kid."
"Yeah, now you get to live," the bald man laughed, "At least until our boss gets what he wants from you."
Their words only scare Inari even more. With all they've said it's clear to her that they belong to the same group as the men who kidnapped her. Despite her fears she asks, "Y-your group was taken down, a-along with your boss. S-so how-?"
"Oh that? That was all a lie."
"Our boss is too smart to get captured. There's no way for him to be caught because he makes sure to stay hidden from everyone. Not even we know where to find him. The chain of command is too long for anyone to ever trace it back to him."
They both laugh at the frightened girl, but she's too far gone to even register their chuckles.
The nightmare she thought she had finally escaped had returned, and with it, so had her fears.
'This can't be real,' she tells herself, 'I can't, I can't go through this again!'
"Alright, enough of this, grab the kid and let's go." the thin one tells the bigger man.
'I should have never asked to come back here! I don't want to be here anymore' Inari screams in her head, fresh tears roll down her cheeks and once again she's enveloped in a familiar green light.
Both men pause in their approach, taking notice in the light radiating from the child.
"I-is she doin some sort of jutsu?"
"I'm not sure, but we better grab her quickly."
Neither of the two made a move.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Grab her!" the taller of the two yelled out.
The heavier man frowned, "Why me? You're the self-appointed leader in this group arent'cha?"
"Tch, fine," the thin man said, taking a step towards the child.
As he got closer he noticed something peculiar. The green light enveloping the small girl appeared to be flickering. 'If this is a jutsu,' he though to himself, 'then it appears she doesn't have the chakra necessary to perform it.' He smirked, no longer approaching cautiously.
However, he was completely off.
Inari's fear was causing her chakra to fluctuate, which in turn, caused it to flicker.
'Mother, father, I wish you were here.' she trembled, letting more tears roll down her face. 'I wish Miyuki had stayed with me,' although she knew the small pup could do little to save her. 'Maybe Hinata will be able to find me. Kiba said they specialized in tracking.' the four year old tried to reassure herself.
However her past resurfaces once she hears the man speak.
"Alright little girl, just come with us and nobody get's hurt."
Inari's breath catches in her throat. Those words were the last thing she heard before her parents were killed. All the effort she did to calm herself flies out the window. She brings her face closer to her knees, her arms pulling her tighter into a ball. 'This is all a dream; I don't want to be here anymore. Somewhere else, that's where I want to go. I want to be far, far far away from here!' she desperately cries out in her head.
The two men take a few steps back as the green light surrounding the girl glows brightly. Before either has a chance to react the light vanishes, along with the girl.
"What the?" the thin man looks on in awe.
"Um, was that suppose to happen?" the heavy set man asked with a puzzled face.
His comrade huffed, and turned to the door. "Come on, we have to report this to the boss."
Four figures flew through the trees, their feet barely making contact with the branches.
It had only been a minute after Inari disappeared when the others returned. By then Hinata had already scanned the area and found no signs of the child.
Kurenai had told them all to split up and widen the search but they met back after a few minutes with no results.
It was then that Shino suggested they search inside the town.
"Alright, this is it," Kiba called out, landing down near the entrance of the town.
With a nod from their jounin leader, the three teens split up and searched the town.
Hinata walked from shop to shop, her byakugan actively scanning for Inari. Most of the buildings were still intact, thought they did show signs of fire damage. Seeing no signs of Inari, Hinata turned to search elsewhere when something caught her eye.
With her eyes still active the teen was able to make out a rather large person heading north of her direction.
Deactivating her byakugan, the heiress followed behind the figure.
When the person stopped, Hinata ducked behind a shop and activated her byakugan once more.
It was then that she noticed a few more figures approaching. They seemed to be having a heated conversation. With careful steps Hinata tried to move closer so she could hear what they were saying.
Sadly, she wasn't able to make out anything other than a few commonly spoken words.
Fortunately, someone with much better hearing was close by.
He jumped off of a nearby roof and confronted the men before him.
"Alright scumbags, where's Inari?" he growled.
Hinata approached her teammate, "Kiba, did you find anything?" Akamaru and Miyuki barked and growled at the group of men.
The heiress looked at the small group of men, most were well muscled and sported mean scowls. From the looks of it, the thin man in the center was their leader.
"Well we didn't find her, but I just heard these bastards mention a little brown-haired girl. That's got to be her." Kiba pointed at the men accusingly.
"Ah, so the kid's name is Inari?" the thin man smirked, "And it seems like she brought little Konoha brats with her."
"If you tell us where she is we just might take it easy on you guys." the Inuzuka male said, cracking his knuckles.
The group of men merely laughed.
"You think you two can take us?"
"These brats have lost their minds."
"Don't worry; I'll handle 'em."
"What no fair!"
"Share man."
"Since when do you get to have all the fun?"
"No way am I letting that happen."
The group agreed and without warning, charged the two teens.
"Hinata, are you up for a fight?" Kiba asked, concerned for his teammate. He could tell that she was running low of chakra.
The heiress nodded, "I-I'll be fine, as long as I don't use my byakugan."
"Alright, Akamaru are you ready?" the pup barked and got into a fighting stance. "Ok Miyuki, go find Shino and Kurenai sensei." Miyuki barked and ran off.
The cocky teen turned to the group of me and grinned. "Let's see how long they can last?"
Kurenai and Shino arrived at Kiba and Hinata's location just in time to see the last guy of the group fall to the ground..
"I see you ran into the same problem as us." the red eyed woman said with a smile. "And it looks like they were about as weak as ours."
Kiba grinned, "Yeah, they were stupid to think they could actually take us."
Shino looked to their female teammate, "Are you alright Hinata?"
The blue haired heiress smiled weakly, "I-I'll be fine, I'm just a little low on chakra."
"So were either of you able to find Inari?" Both teens shook their heads. "We had no luck as well."
"One of the guys we were fighting mentioned seeing a small girl. But he wouldn't tell us anything." Kiba growled, looking over at the unconscious man.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Kurenai mumbled to herself. "Alright you three, If they spotted Inari then she must be around here somewhere. Now, where haven't we looked?"
"T-there," Hinata pointed to the large house built slightly above the rest of the town.
Miyuki barked to Akamaru, who turned to Kiba.
"That's Inari's home," Kiba relayed the message to the rest of team 8, "If she's anywhere then she has to be there."
"Let's go."
"Hurry up dear, the sun is starting to set and you know my eyes are not what they used to be."
"I'm coming sweetheart. Remember I've got a bad leg."
"Oh you always use that excuse. But I know you're quick on your feet when it's time to eat."
"Bah," he waved off her comment and proceeded to walk down the familiar road.
"Careful with the groceries, you know how hard it is to go to the town to get them." she continued on an on, the man beside her nodding every now and then. After living together for so many years he was an expert at tuning her out while still nodding at the appropriate times.
The two walked for about five minutes before the man noticed something in the distance.
"And you know how those two are-"
"Look sweetheart, there's something up ahead." he pointed to the blur.
"Oh I don't see anything," the small woman squinted, adjusting her glasses.
"Bah, that's because you're as blind as a bat." he waved his hand dismissively and approached the small bundle.
When her husband didn't respond, the old woman approached him, "What's wrong dear?" she asked, looking down.
"Oh my," she gasped, "It's a little girl!"
"Kiba, report."
"We've found her scent, but only in this area." he pointed to the child's room. "The most overpowering smells all around seem to be from those men we beat up. My guess is that they've made this place their base."
"So she was only in this room? That doesn't make sense." Kurenai frowned. The men they had attacked knew only the most basic of jutsus, so there was no way that they could have masked the child's scent.
"Hinata, were you able to find anything?"
The heiress shook her head, "She doesn't appear to be anywhere in the vicinity."
"Shino?"
"My bugs have searched but have found no trace of her." Shino reported, "While on this mission I placed a bug on her, but it died from chakra burns."
"What? How can that be?" the befuddled jounin woman asked.
"From what Kiba has gathered, the most powerful scents in this room are of two of the men and Inari. In light of this, we can conclude that all three were present around the same time. Kiba has also pointed out that Inari appears to have only been in this vicinity. From this we may assume that the same method was used to get her in and out."
"S-she teleported," Hinata whispered.
"That would be my guess," Shino nodded, continuing on, "From the burns on my bug, we may also assume that she expelled high levels of chakra. I have seen Inari perform the technique and normally it would not cause this," he said, lifting up the dead beetle. "My best guess would be that she accessed her chakra in high amounts and released it all at once."
"I was informed that her technique could be affected by her emotions." Kurenai added in.
"S-she must have been scared by the two men and acted in fear," Hinata said in a worried tone. 'And now she's all alone somewhere. We have to find her.'
"But, if she teleported away, and used up so much chakra…"
Shino finished Kiba's line of thought, "Then she might be running dangerously low on chakra."
Team 8 all sported worried looks. At her age they knew it was dangerous to use up a lot of chakra. As experienced genin they knew when they could use their chakra and when they were pushing it. But Inari didn't and had already passed out a few times because of it.
She was young and still growing so it was harder to gauge just where her limit was. If she had used as much as Shino guessed, then they needed to find her right away.
Kiba let out a frustrated groan. "Damn it, just how are we suppose to find her? That technique of hers doesn't leave a trail."
"It doesn't matter Kiba. We have to find her no matter what."
"Kurenai sensei, do you think that maybe Inari went back to Konoha?"
The dark haired woman sighed, "I hope so Hinata." she turned to the rest of the team, "It's getting dark. Let's travel south for a little bit and see if we can't find anything. We'll make camp and search more tomorrow. If we don't find her then we'll head back to Konoha. With any luck she might be on her way there. If not then we'll have to organize a search team for her."
The three teens nodded and ran off, each one desperate to find signs of the girl.
Hinata couldn't help but blame herself for not stopping Inari in time. 'I should have noticed sooner. Then maybe…' the heiress shook away those thoughts. 'I can't think like that. I have to keep going.' she jumped from tree to tree, ignoring how tired her legs were. 'Naruto would never give up and I won't either.'
"The poor dear, how is she?"
"It's not looking good. I can't get her to respond."
"I'm going to head to town and find a doctor."
"Alright, I'll go ahead and take her home. Maybe I can get her to wake up."
"Gah pervy sage, what's the hold up? You promised to teach me a cool jutsu today!" the blond huffed at the white haired man in front of him. They had just arrived in this town and as soon as they found lodging the Toad Sage went straight to the nearby hot springs.
Naruto had wanted to begin training right away. He needed the distraction since he had just left the people important to him. 'If I train hard and fast then maybe I can return sooner than everyone thought.' He had thought with a determined smile. Alas the white haired man had other plans.
"Shh, quiet Naruto. Can't you see I'm doing some important research here?" the older man giggled, a blush across his cheeks.
"Yeah right, you're just being a pervert." Naruto crossed his arms and stormed off. "Whatever, I'll go train by myself." he was almost out of sight when, "EEK, I THINK I JUST SAW A PERVERT!" the blond yelled in the girliest voice he could do.
"Ahh a pervert!"
"What? Where?"
"I see him, he's over there!"
"GET HIM!"
Naruto left with a grin on his face. Despite being a nice distance away, he could clearly hear the screams of pain from Jiraiya.
"Ahh, I'm so hungry." the whiskered teen rubbed his empty belly, "Luckily pervy sage didn't take my money today," he grinned, pulling out his froggy wallet, "I hope I can find a place that serves ramen."
It had taken some time to get a hold of the doctor but eventually both men made it back to the old man's home. It was located a short distance away from the small town the doctor lived it. The elderly couple where retired farmers who lived off their life savings and a few crops they were still able to care for.
Unfortunately the doctor wasn't that experienced with Inari's type of injury. In the town they lived in he was used to dealing with cuts, fractures and burns. The elderly couple looked on in worry, wishing there was something they could do.
"I'm sorry I can't be of much help." the middle aged man said apologetically. "If you want, you could try your luck in the town a few miles away. I hear they have a very skilled medic."
"Thank you, we might just do that." the tired old man said, closing the door after walking the doctor out.
"So what do you think dear? Should we go to the other town? This poor girl needs help." the old woman said, wiping a smudge off her glasses.
"I think we'd have to bring the girl to them. Otherwise we could be waiting for weeks. You know how distracted that medic can be," the old man griped, sitting down beside his wife.
"Oh grandpa, I've been gone less than I week and I see you're already talking bad about me," a voice called from the door.
Before her husband could retort the old woman got up and spoke, "Oh I'm so glad you're here. We found this child unconscious on the street. Please come take a look."
The hooded figure by the door put on a serious face and quickly approached the small brown haired girl. 'Hmm, her vitals have slowed down and she's unresponsive.'
"H-how is she?"
The figure sighed, "This isn't good, I need to work fast or she'll die."
Team 8 had definitely seen better days. After searching for an hour their team leader had suggested they make camp. But the teens were determined to keep going and after much debate, they convinced Kurenai to continue on. They had made it halfway back to Konoha when the red eyed jounin finally managed to convinced them to rest for a bit. The gang had immediately passed out from exhaustion. Kurenai, having had years of experience, could go without sleep for a day or two. So instead, she decided be lookout and ensure her students were safe from harm.
Alas, the teens were only able to rest for a few hours. As soon as the sun came up they were woken from their slumber and the search continued on.
To their dismay, they had made it all the way back to Konoha with no signs of Inari. The sun was just beginning to set as Team 8 quickly reported to the gate guards and made their way to the tower.
Shizune had just walked out of the Hokage's office, a stack of papers in her hands. "Hey guys, how'd it go?" her cheerful smile quickly turned to a frown, "What's wrong?"
Kurenai was the first to speak, "We need to talk to the Hokage. Inari's disappeared."
"What?" Tsunade called out from her office. She called them in to explain the situation.
"We searched everywhere but there was no sign of her." Kiba said with a frown.
"Shizune, send someone out to the orphanage. It's a long shot, but maybe she's there."
"Yes Lady Tsunade."
The blonde woman signed and turned to address the others. "We'll send a search team out for her. Hopefully they'll be able to find something."
"What? No way, send us instead. We just need to rest for a bit and-"
Tsunade held up her hand to silence the boy, "I understand what you all must be feeling, but this situation requires a more experienced team. Don't forget you three are still genin." she didn't want to be harsh but she wanted them to understand. The three teens nodded sadly.
Kurenai flashed her students an apologetic look.
"I will be sure to keep you all informed, dismissed." Tsunade watched as team 8 left, no one saying a word.
The blond woman brought her hands up to her face, her elbows resting on her desk. 'Let's just hope Shizune comes back with good news.'
As soon as Kiba exit's the tower he marches of towards the training grounds. Hinata bites her lip, wanting to say something to the boy. Shino takes the initiative and grabs the Inuzuka lad by the shoulder. "You're not thinking clearly Kiba. Go home and rest, your body is too tired to train at the moment."
The boy with the red markings on his face glared at the Aburame. Hinata looked nervously between the two boys.
"Enough, go get some rest, all of you. I know you don't like this situation but that's life sometimes. If you want to get stronger then go to the training grounds tomorrow morning for some training. I expect everyone there at 6 'o' clock at the latest." The red eyed woman quickly announced before heading home.
Each of the teens gave a determined nod and left.
Miyuki, despite getting along well with Akamaru and Kiba, walked away with the Hyuuga heiress. Without her owner around, the pup suddenly felt so alone and unprotected. Thankfully Hinata noticed the pups apprehension and scooped her up in her arms.
"Don't worry Miyuki, we'll find Inari. For now you can stay with me." she spoke in the most comforting and reassuring voice she could muster. 'I hope.'
A small whimper escapes her throat. With some effort she's able to open her eyes. 'Where am I?' she thinks to herself, moving her head in an attempt to look around. Her whole body cries out in pain, causing her to groan. It's at that moment that the four-year old realizes just how heavy her body feels. It hurts but she bites her lip and turns her head completely to the right.
Her vision is a bit hazy but with effort she's able to make out a slim and fairly tall figure.
Said figure approaches her with a smile, "Good, it looks like you're finally awake."
Ok so I noticed I have a habit of centering the story around my OC Inari.
But she kind of has a vital role in the story. So unless I decide to kill her she'll still be hanging around.
I'm working on it though. That's why this chapter has taken so long. I'm trying to set something up so that I can get to the good stuff.
Please be patient and thank you for reading. Any comments are appreciated. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think.
My goal is to take no more than a month between chapters. Let's see if I can do it.
I caught a few mistakes that I had to change. This is what happens when I stop writing for so long. I think I'll have to re-read book 1. Make sure I don't have any more inconsistencies.
Gah, I just found some inconsistencies! I'll have to re-read book 1 and see if they can't be fixed. Oh this is going to be fun…